Amber is a composition of polymerized tree sap of prehistoric origin. It is of particular interest to natural scientists, hobbyists and craftspersons, because a variety of organic matter, including prehistoric insects, plant and animal materials, are often found embedded in amber. The inclusions may be studied for scientific merit or mere curiosity. Amber having inclusions has also found wide application in jewelry making.
Polishing amber by methods known in the gem polishing art involves the application of machine-driven abrasives and the use of toxic polishing compounds. Commonly, lapping machines, faceting machines and cabochon machines are used for the initial rough polishing. Thereafter, a variety of buffing machines are employed to produce the final finish. Polishing compounds are employed to provide a smooth surface.
The abrasives commonly used in conjunction with machine polishing are diamond abrasives embedded in wheels. Once the amber is roughly polished, polishing compounds are applied with buffing machines. Polishing compounds commonly used employ cerium oxide or aluminum oxide.
The amber polishing methods known in the art have certain disadvantages which make them impracticable and unsafe for use by children and other unskilled persons. The machinery and abrasives used in the art are expensive. Thus a casually interested person, a child or a schoolteacher is typically precluded from the use of such machines and abrasives. A major disadvantage of known methods is the toxicity of the polishing compounds. Therefore, the known methods are unsuitable for use by unskilled persons and children.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method and kit which overcome the aforementioned disadvantages by allowing unskilled persons to polish amber in supervised or unsupervised settings.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method whereby an unskilled person can polish amber by hand using inexpensive abrasives and non-toxic compounds.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method in which the compound, or compounds, used for polishing amber are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in the event that they are ingested.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a kit containing all of the components necessary to enable an unskilled person or child to perform the method of the invention in supervised or unsupervised settings in the classroom or home environment.